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<title>If Inexperience is a Crime, Exonerate Me Baby by gr8_rach, pr3tty_g1rl5</title>
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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29052840">If Inexperience is a Crime, Exonerate Me Baby</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/gr8_rach/pseuds/gr8_rach'>gr8_rach</a>, <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/pr3tty_g1rl5/pseuds/pr3tty_g1rl5'>pr3tty_g1rl5</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>The Locked Tomb Trilogy | Gideon the Ninth Series - Tamsyn Muir</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>F/F, Grinding, Loss of Virginity, Multiple Orgasms, Nipple Play, No Harrow the Ninth Spoilers (Locked Tomb Trilogy), Oral Sex, Vaginal Fingering</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-01-29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-01-29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 07:07:38</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Explicit</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>9,024</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29052840</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/gr8_rach/pseuds/gr8_rach, https://archiveofourown.org/users/pr3tty_g1rl5/pseuds/pr3tty_g1rl5</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>For the first time, Harrow considered that maybe virginity could be a deficiency. Was it? Harrow could only guess it was, if even these children were willing to name it so. Virgins were pure, weren’t they? Harrow was a holy figure, and what was holier than a virgin? But still a part of Harrow rankled at being deficient in any way. </p><p>Without her permission, an idea sprang to mind—and no. Absolutely not. The 9th House could be on fire and she wouldn’t take a bucket from—no. Not Gideon Nav.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Gideon Nav &amp; Harrowhark Nonagesimus, Gideon Nav/Harrowhark Nonagesimus</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>139</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>If Inexperience is a Crime, Exonerate Me Baby</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Harrow was prominent enough in the 9th House that no one dared speak ill of her. </p><p>But this didn’t make Harrowhark Nonagesimus, Reverend Mother now, a beloved figure. </p><p>Sure, no one spoke ill of her <em>directly</em>; but during a walk towards a damp, dark corner of the 9th, Harrow found herself creeping (it was all she knew how to do) upon a set of children—the first in a great while. A miracle, even. The 9th was no place for children. Damp and dark. Dirty. Slimy. </p><p>There was no distinction between grime and not-grime, and there were no customs for how to protect an innocent mind. It was thus that Harrow stumbled upon the set of three. 
</p><p>“I would bet,” said the one who looked to be grimiest. </p><p>“Shhh, someone will hear you!” </p><p>“Pfft, like who? The Reverend Mother?” </p><p>The answering guilty titters stopped Harrow in her silent tracks. She listened. </p><p>“She’ll never be anyone’s mother if she’s a virgin until she dies,” the first slimy slip of a child sneered. “That’s what my dad says.” </p><p>Ice, solid and cold and slowly dripped icy unpleasant drops down through her belly. Harrow would be lying if she said it had never crossed her mind. She just felt it was too important to lead the 9th as best as she could rather than worry about—about <em>that</em> in particular. And honestly, Harrow hadn’t felt the stirrings of desire in that way, well. In her whole life. Thanks to trauma, no doubt. </p><p>But for the first time, Harrow considered that maybe this could be a deficiency. Was it? Harrow could only guess it was, if even these children were willing to name it so. Virgins were pure, weren’t they? Harrow was a holy figure, and what was holier than a virgin? But still a part of Harrow rankled at being deficient in any way. </p><p>This deficiency, however, might prove difficult to rectify on her own. Harrow had never even felt her own body underneath her thick robes, preferring instead to curl into a ball and fall asleep in her bed to a thick, dreamless escape from the dark of her days. She wouldn’t even know where to start with another person. </p><p>Without her permission, an idea sprang to mind—and no. Absolutely not. The 9th House could be on fire and she wouldn’t take a bucket from—no. Not Gideon Nav. </p><p>A voice from the back of her mind slithered unpleasantly to the front. <em>You know Nav would know what to do,</em> it whispered, quite unwelcome. Harrow put it out of her mind. For a few days at least. </p><p>However, it tickled the edges of her thoughts at all times. Pictures of Gideon. Idle curiosity over what it might look and feel like to not be a virgin. What that might look like with the horrible, flame-haired buffoon. </p><p>
This last thought in particular made Harrow drop her spoonful of breakfast porridge into her lap, making a horrible clattering sound against the edge of the heavy table and startling the old cronies across from her. </p><p>Unable to stand it, she gave up and found the moron herself. Gideon, the terrible idiot, grinned wide at Harrow’s obviously uncertain presence. </p><p>“I’m not even trying to escape right now; to what do I owe the absolute odiferous pleasure of your company, Reverend Mother?” </p><p>Harrow flushed, glad for the thick, cold paint across her face. “You imbecile, I’m not here for that,” she snapped. </p><p>Gideon raised her eyebrow, hands paused on the handle of her awful, thick sword. </p><p>“I’m here—for—to ask—”</p><p>“To <em>ask</em>?” Gideon seemed surprised at this. </p><p>“I heard children in the street... saying things.” Harrow avoided Gideon’s eyes. Never mind that if Gideon ever caught on and agreed, they would be much closer than mere eye contact. </p><p>“Things,” Gideon repeated. </p><p>“About my—well. My lack of... experience. No.” Harrow blushed again. Much more of this and her face paint would start melting. </p><p>“Experience? Geez, Harrow, spit it out!” Gideon was leaning forward now, obvious in her morbid curiosity. </p><p>“Apparently some members of the 9th House are doubtful of my suitability for the title ‘Reverend Mother’ because of my own lack of motherly experience. Or.” </p><p>Gideon stopped moving at all. Deadly still. “Sex. You’re talking about sex, aren’t you?” </p><p>God, what was wrong with Harrow today, she couldn’t stop blushing. </p><p>“What I don’t understand is—what does that have to do with me—oh,” Gideon stopped abruptly and a cat-like, obnoxious, horribly smug grin spread across her dirty face. “I see. You thought, ‘I need to get some sexy sexy experience, I know who to call,’ and here you are.”</p><p>It was the truth, however crassly Gideon phrased it. Harrow did not deny it, did not waste breath protesting. It’s what she wanted—for Nav to teach her in this one area so that she didn’t feel deficient in any way. Her people didn’t need to lose faith in her over something so silly. </p><p>Any other situation, Harrow would have dismissed it. However, the secret that her parents bestowed upon her with their death weighed heavily and... she didn’t care to risk it. Was there a tiny part of Harrow that wanted to know what Gideon might be like? Under those heavy robes and layers of grime, what the shape of her obviously considerable arms was like?</p><p>Nope. No. Absolutely not. </p><p>It was necessity and that was all. Gideon was her age. Gideon had a high likelihood of recent sexual experience given her pornographic interests. </p><p>That was all. Harrow repeated that phrase mentally as she watched Gideon walk slow, self-assured circles around her. The fabric of Gideon’s black robe brushing the floor sounded a million times louder than usual. </p><p>“Harrowhark Nonagesimus, Reverend Mother. Asking me for sex help. Whaddaya know.  Apparently the sun really does rise on the 9th House and I’m in luck today,” Gideon said, and perhaps her voice sounded a bit more serious than usual. “Where did you want to get down to business, emo queen?”</p><p>Harrow scoffed. Rolled her eyes. Anything to detract from the blush. “No one comes down here,” shesaid, trying and failing to meet Gideon’s eyes comfortably, and holding the excruciating eye contact anyway.</p><p>“Oh, you want your first time to be in my deep dark dungeon, huh?” Gideon stood straighter, looking around her. “Wouldn’t anywhere else be more comfortable?” </p><p>Harrow scowled at this, self-consciousness forgotten. “And risk someone seeing your oafish self anywhere near my quarters? No thanks.” </p><p>Gideon chuckled. “Come here, princess.” </p><p>“No. No stupid nicknames,” Harrow said, moving not a single inch. </p><p>“Aww, you’re no fun, Reverend Mother,” Gideon said. She continued to back into her cell until she was standing beside the grimy cot she slept on.“It ain’t much, but it’ll do for a marriage bed,” she said with a wink.</p><p>Harrow rolled her eyes, stepping forward. God, here it was. Gideon’s golden eyes gleamed with excitement as she reached for Harrow. Those stout, strong fingers grasped the front folds of Harrow’s robes and tugged until they were face to face, inches apart. </p><p>“I’m going to kiss you now,” Gideon said.</p><p>“Then do it, instead of blathering.”</p><p>And Gideon did.</p><p>Harrow was surprised by how warm and plush Gideon’s lips were. And then there was a hot, slick tongue feeling at the seam between Harrow’s lips, teeth nibbling behind it.</p><p>Gideon tasted like toothpaste, actually. Harrow had been half expecting the taste of gruel. Gideon reached up to tilt Harrow’s head to the side and suddenly her tongue was deeper, sliding against Harrow’s in a way that twisted her stomach into tight knots.</p><p>Desperate, drowning, Harrow reached up to hold Gideon’s biceps, shocked when their girth sent heat dripping down into the space between her legs. It felt like she was melting down there.</p><p>How was Gideon so—so big? Her hand cupped the back of Harrow’s head, palm encapsulating the entirety of her greasy black hair, scratching pleasant circles into her scalp. Gideon’s other arm snaked around Harrow’s thin waist, dragging her forward and upward, pressing her against the scorching heat of Gideon’s body.</p><p>Their mouths moved together still, and Harrow tried to keep her wits enough to avoid letting... <em>noises </em>go.</p><p>Gideon flicked her tongue and Harrow was not successful. At the sound, a hot breath huffed into Harrow’s mouth. Gideon was clearly pleased by Harrow’s inability to control herself. Disgusting. </p><p>“Can I—take some of this off?” Gideon had a little trail of spit hanging off her lower lip. With a jolt, Harrow realized it was probably her own, and the thought made the fire in her belly burn hotter. </p><p>Then she realized Gideon had asked something. “Uh. Why?” </p><p>Gideon’s eyes crinkled as she laughed. It was horrible, how someone like Gideon could shine so bright even as a sarcastic pessimist. “You wanna have sex fully clothed?” </p><p>Harrow frowned. “Why can’t we?”</p><p>“... do you know what sex is?”</p><p>Harrow frowned. “Of course I do,” she said, rather hastily. “I just don’t understand why we have to take off our clothes to do it.”</p><p>Gideon snickered, pulling away and shucking the outer layer of her clothing off. It revealed skin the color of shadowed sand, dusky and freckled lightly. Harrow didn’t know what she expected to see, but a rounded, chiseled shoulder certainly wasn’t it. Harrow’s body didn’t look like that. Her shoulder was sharp, not at all the sinewy curve that Gideon’s was. </p><p>“I admit, the idea of seeing more skin is. Intriguing.”</p><p>“It’s a necessity, is what it is,” Gideon said, leaning towards Harrow with her fingers outstretched, reaching for the clasp of Harrow’s cloak. “Come on, Reverend Mother, show me what you’re hiding under all of that cloakage.” </p><p>Harrow rolled her eyes and batted Gideon’s hand away. She undid her cloak and let it slip, but it didn’t reveal any skin. She didn’t favor the loose tank tops Gideon seemed so fond of. Instead, she had a long dress on, heavy and black, like the rest of her wardrobe. Like the paint she used on her skin.</p><p>She’d avoided the paint today thinking it might interfere with the sex. It involved mouths heavily, if what she suspected was to be believed. Harrow didn’t think she’d like to have her paint smeared all over; the cold, thick paint didn’t remove so easily. It was best to apply it and leave it.</p><p>Gideon Nav never bothered herself with face paint. Probably for the same reason she favored tank tops—she considered herself a wonder to be beheld by all who met her. </p><p>Eyeing the bit of ribcage she could see through the arm of the tank, Harrow begrudgingly agreed. </p><p>“Can I?” Gideon asked. “Take your dress off, I mean.” </p><p>Harrow’s arms closed across the front of her body. “You first.” </p><p>Gideon made a grunting noise in agreement, and in a fluid motion she must have practiced, removed the tank top. Then she unsnapped her pants and tugged them down, and that was it. Harrow had now seen all of Gideon Nav.</p><p>“Where are your underclothes, Griddle?”The woman in question grinned.</p><p>“What for? I wear so much other clothing, why can’t my bits breathe a little?” Harrow tried to ignore the heat in her gut.</p><p>“Come on, you can touch. I know you wanna.” </p><p>“Absolutely not,” Harrow said at the same time that she reached out for Gideon. </p><p>Gideon’s breasts were the glory of her upper body. They were ripe and smooth, not just little mounds of fat, like Harrow’s. These were well muscled and caught the flickering lantern light deliciously. Making contact with them was like touching the softest silk in the 9th House. Not that any existed in the 9th House, but all the same. </p><p>No—it absolutely did exist. It was here, under Gideon Nav’s clothing. Butter soft and warm. So goddamn warm. </p><p>Harrow forgot herself. She leaned in and rubbed the flat of her cheek against Gideon’s warm breast, and when the tip of her nose brushed against a tight nipple, Gideon gasped. </p><p>Ah, Harrow had almost forgotten Gideon was attached to the soft skin she was nuzzling. Experimentally. Harrow lapped at it. </p><p>Gideon lost her mind. “Harrow! Fuck—why are you, what—“</p><p>Harrow found the taste of it interesting. A bit salty, from sweat, probably. A bit musky, probably also from sweat. There was something in the back of the taste—not a flavor, but a smell—that felt like Gideon. Curious, Harrow wrapped her lips around the bud and sucked. </p><p>“Oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my god,” Gideon panted. “Harrow, have you researched this?”</p><p>At this Harrow looked up at Gideon, the edges of her teeth still latched onto the rosy brown nipple in her mouth. “No. Why?” </p><p>“Fuck. Dress. Off.” </p><p>Harrow obliged, eager to go back to Gideon’s naked skin. </p><p>It was cold in Gideon’s cell. Harrow’s little nipples tightened in a way that felt much more pleasant than it usually did. A flash of a fantasy—Gideon’s lips on her own breast—wow. It occurred to Harrow now that perhaps sex might amount to something more than mere kissing and hands down pants. </p><p>“Can we—can I?” Gideon pulled at Harrow’s shoulders, coaxing her to the bed. Closer. They were in each other’s space again. </p><p>Harrow went for a kiss. Gideon responded beautifully, matching Harrow’s tentative movements with soft enthusiasm. How did she not expect that? Gideon, who was eager in everything she did. Gideon, who despite her sarcastic tendencies, had not turned Harrow down. </p><p>Harrow couldn’t stop her soft whimper. When Gideon pulled away from the kiss to breathe, Harrow made a small noise of discontent in the back of her open mouth. </p><p>“Not that kissing you isn’t thrilling, O Dark Princess, but can I remove some of these fucking layers of clothing so we can actually fuck?” </p><p>Harrow, to her extreme displeasure, felt herself blush, which, really? Fuck. She moved to the side of Gideon so she could start divesting herself of layers, but Gideon’s hands closed over hers and for God’s sake, Gideon shushed her. </p><p>“I didn’t speak,” Harrow snapped. </p><p>“Can I do it?” </p><p>Harrow only had the layers of underclothes left to work through, but to Gideon’s obvious dismay, there were even more of these than there were layers of regular clothing.</p><p>Harrow, frail and delicate since her birth, did not feel safe or warm (though that last one was a luxury she didn’t allow herself to worry about in great measure) unless she was shrouded in as many layers as she could manage. Corsets and layers of black and bone improved her chances of safety in a fight and made her more of a mystery to the people of the 9th. Clearly, Gideon didn’t appreciate the intricacy in this moment. She grumbled as she worked the clasps and ribbons off of Harrow’s underclothes.</p><p>Harrow could have bone-magicked the bone clasps but watching Gideon kneel over her had her dampening even more between her legs. What would happen once Gideon had Harrow unclothed? Already Harrow’s nipples were getting tight, just from the imminent exposure to the cold air and the proximity of Gideon’s fingers. She shifted under Gideon, restless. Maybe refusing to help was a bad idea. </p><p>The last layer shuffled off Harrow, and Gideon sat back on her heels to look in the dim light. Harrow resisted the urge to cross her arms over her small breasts. The nipples were dark—far darker than she thought they should be—little nubs jutting above the gentle swells. Gideon’s hand was warmer than Harrow expected, big enough to wrap around Harrow’s ribcage. The shape of her big fingers burned into Harrow’s skin, but Gideon didn’t leave them still for long at all. They roamed, accompanied by a strange expression on Gideon’s face. Harrow wanted to call it curiosity, but the truth was that it looked a great deal more fond than just curiosity. </p><p>“Shit, Harrow. You’ve been hiding all this under those layers all these years?” </p><p>Harrow scoffed. She wasn’t anything like what Gideon must prefer. Gideon had all those horrible magazines. Harrow knew—she was in charge of approving every piece of literature that came into the 9th House, so she was disgustingly familiar with Gideon’s “artworks of a titty nature”— that her titties were not half as... substantial as those. The light didn’t shine off her curves like the painstakingly illustrated and photographed women in the porn Gideon read. </p><p>But anyway. What did it matter? She wasn’t here to impress Nav. </p><p>“Oh, Harrow.” Gideon looked at her with those fiery eyes, that same fondness burning into Harrow. “Don’t tell me I’ll have to spend time rhapsodizing about how rock-hard your body gets me,” Gideon said, her tongue poking out of the side of her horrid plush lips. The edge of a sharp tooth came into view as her lip curled jovially. </p><p>“Don’t be absurd,” Harrow said. “I can still leave.”</p><p>“Go right ahead; the 9th House has a million skeletons walking the streets and a million more on Death’s doorstep. You’ll fit right in with your current state of undress.”</p><p>Harrow swatted at Gideon’s chest, chagrined to find it too sturdy. “Just fuck me or get off,” she snapped.</p><p>“With any luck, I’ll do both.”</p><p>Harrow ground her teeth even as a bolt of liquid heat dripped between her spread thighs. And then Gideon was leaning down, tongue sliding against the thin skin at Harrow’s pulse point, and Harrow was lost. </p><p>The nerves in her neck seemed to be connected to a number of disconcerting places in her body. As Gideon kissed and sucked, Harrow felt heat and electricity jolting along her spine, along her thighs, and right between her legs </p><p>Gideon was the puppet master, plucking Harrow’s various strings with her tongue and her fingers. Harrow twitched and tried to hold back the noises rising out of her throat, her hands clutching uselessly at Gideon. The cold froze Gideon’s sweat to her skin as it pooled in the hollows of her muscles, and Harrow’s grip faltered as Gideon worked her way down with her lips and teeth. </p><p>A sharp exhale escaped Harrow as Gideon’s teeth caught on the edge of Harrow’s sharp collarbone, lighting her up with unbearable pleasure and pain at the same time. Gideon let her teeth do the exploring, as if she somehow understood Harrow’s proclivity for torment, nipping first at the edges of Harrow’s breastbone and then at the fat of her small breasts, leaving tiny marks, flush as blood, all over Harrow. The pinpricks of pain left her desperate somehow. She felt unbearably empty and unfulfilled, wanting Gideon to bite her <em>harder</em>, bite her <em>deeper</em>, or—or <em>something</em>! </p><p>When Gideon’s teeth closed around Harrow’s nipple, Harrow cried out, immediately shoving her wrist into her mouth to stifle any further noises. It didn’t work. Harrow continued to produce a patchwork of desperate, muffled noises, as Gideon first bit and then tugged at Harrow’s nipple. The tugging seemed to reveal a cord of fire tied between her nipple and a <em>very</em> specific spot between her legs. </p><p>Grinning like an idiot, Gideon pulled again with her teeth, eyes locked onto Harrow’s, a bead of sweat falling down her forehead into the ridiculous russet of her eyebrows. Every time she pulled and tugged and bit harder, Harrow pulsed with need, her thighs squeezing shut. </p><p>“Oh, baby, look at you,” Gideon cooed. She pulled her fingers away from Harrow’s hip to stroke at the other nipple softly, the touch so different from the sharp discomfort in the other.</p><p>Harrow couldn’t reply, couldn’t berate Gideon for something as banal as calling her <em>baby</em>, couldn’t find any of the many retorts she’d usually have at hand. All she could focus on was the feather soft circles at the top of her right nipple and the bright pain at the left. Gideon’s fingertip was calloused, the whorls of her fingerprint pronounced so strongly that Harrow could feel them against her nipple. Or at least she imagined she could—imagined she could fall right down between the ridges and drown in Gideon’s touch forever. </p><p>And then Gideon switched her fingers and teeth, and Harrow made a noise like a dying animal. The soft, delicate touch against the swollen, painful bud of her abused nipple was too much to bear, and the contrast between where Gideon had touched so lightly and was now biting made her back arch at an uncomfortable angle. </p><p>Was this sex? The thought floated through the static in Harrow’s brain to the surface, and she squeezed her eyes shut in disbelief. Was it? If it wasn’t, she didn’t know how she’d handle actual sex. This was the most intense thing Harrow had ever felt.</p><p>She’d felt pain before. Harrow had been tasked with training herself in bone magic since she was a small child. She’d been pummelled by skeletons and Gideon and her parents many many times, but the way this pain heightened the pleasure was such a new and different sensation.</p><p>Harrow felt she might be addicted from just this small taste. </p><p>The thought sent a fresh wave of panic through her. What if Gideon was the only way she could ever feel this again? Could she stand this intimacy more than once, with Gideon? </p><p>The woman in question closed her teeth around the very root of Harrow’s nipple, so deep it sent an ache into the middle of her chest. This ache was sweet and heady instead of bright and sharp like the other sensation of Gideon’s teeth. Harrow’s mouth fell open as the spot between her legs pulsed stronger, almost as if she were being dipped into a pool of pure fire. </p><p>“G-Gideon?” Harrow couldn’t find the words to ask her question. Her fingers circled around Gideon’s free wrist where it held her up against the floor, begging silently for something, anything, but unable to understand what she wanted. </p><p>Gideon released her sharp teeth and pulled up to look into Harrow’s eyes. Whatever she found there made her golden eyes widen, and the other fingers plucked at her nipple instead of the rubbing from before. It made Harrow cry out again, closing her thighs tighter around that unbearable wave of heat. Her hips reached up, meeting the outside of Gideon’s waist and falling back to the cot. </p><p>“Holy fuck, Harrow. Are you going to cum? Just from this?” </p><p>Cum? Was she <em>going</em> to? Surely whatever was supposed to happen during sex was happening now. It couldn’t get worse than this. It couldn’t. Harrow’s eyebrows knitted together as Gideon squeezed the whole swell of her breast in her palm and bent down again to bite at Harrow. This time Gideon closed her teeth around the whole of that breast as well, her tongue rubbing against the tip of Harrow’s nipple, slick and hot, and Harrow just had time to whimper out Gideon’s name as the pleasure and pain inside of her crested—</p><p>—and Harrow was lost. It was maddening, waves of sensation that wouldn’t fall to completion. Instead, they crashed against each other, driving the pleasure higher and higher and squeezing tears out of Harrow’s eyes. Every muscle in her body contracted and released over and over and over as Harrow suffered through whatever this was. </p><p>The waves settled finally, but Harrow was boneless by that point. She couldn’t move, couldn’t <em>think</em>, much less find words. Her eyes stayed closed tight as she heaved, sweatier than she felt when she tried a new necromantic spell. </p><p>“Wow, Her Ebony Majesty came just from her first ever nipple stimulation. Who would’ve thought?” Gideon flicked at one of Harrow’s nipples with a short laugh, snickering again when Harrow flinched away from the touch. </p><p>“What’s gonna happen when I lick your pussy, I wonder?” </p><p>Harrow’s eyes snapped open. “When you—what?” </p><p>Gideon laughed and Harrow reached a hand up to fit it around her throat. </p><p>“I’m serious. You’re not putting your mouth down there.” </p><p>She knew each bone by name, fingers finding the ridges and edges of every vertebrae in Gideon’s neck. One press here and Gideon wouldn’t be able to breathe ever again. Somehow, knowing this in light of what Gideon had just made her feel sent a chill shooting down her spine. It felt dangerously like pleasure. </p><p>“Why not? I just had my mouth on your—okay!” Gideon sputtered as Harrow tightened her fingers. </p><p>“Listen to me, Griddle. You may have gotten a leg up on me, figuratively speaking, because of my inexperience. But I am in charge, here, now. And I want you to shut your god-awful mouth and let me have this.” </p><p>Gideon’s eyes burned into hers and she nodded shortly. Harrow moved her hands and motioned for Gideon to switch places with her. She was pleased when Gideon made no argument, instead following directions pleasantly and quickly. </p><p>“Hands up, now, Nav. Yes, like that,” Harrow traced her cold fingers up and down the undersides of Gideon’s arms, feeling the thick muscles corded around her bones, each divot and curve an intoxicating journey for Harrow. Gideon felt so <em>alive</em> underneath Harrow’s hands. She was warm and silky, muscle and fat working together to shape her more spectacularly than any sculptor could ever hope to achieve. </p><p>The sides of Gideon’s torso were no exception. The muscles wrapped around her chest were thick and firm, and Harrow took a moment to trace each of them to the edge of Gideon’s ribcage before moving below. There was a thick cord of muscle right where the waistband of her pants must sit, the hollow of her many abdominals nestled above. And between the thick ‘V’ of her hips sat Gideon’s pubic mound. </p><p>It was fuzzy with auburn hair, darker than the hair on GIdeon’s head but still unbelievably bright against the rich warmth of her skin. The swell of it seemed unbearably beautiful to Harrow, too delicate to be found on a woman as thick and sturdy as Gideon. With a light fingertip, she traced the shape of it, right down to the parting between Gideon’s outer labia, dipping between in a moment of brave curiosity. </p><p>Gideon’s hips jerked against the soft pressure, and Harrow quirked an eyebrow at her. </p><p>“That feels good?” </p><p>Gideon rolled her eyes and nodded. “Of-fucking-course it does, you just touched my clit after I watched you cum from nipple play.” </p><p>Harrow’s eyes shot back down to her fingertip. Gideon’s clit was there. </p><p>Harrow knew a great deal about anatomy of course. She learned the entirety of the human bone structure at a small age, and knowing the muscles and ligaments and organs was only ever an asset to that skeletal knowledge. </p><p>Burning with curious energy, Harrow tried to find a way to shimmy down between Gideon’s legs without looking gangly and awkward. The endeavor was probably a failed one, but as soon as she was eye level with Gideon’s cunt, she found she didn’t much care anymore. </p><p>The fuzz on Gideon’s labia was less dense than on her pubic mound, which gave Harrow a great view of all the parts of her. The outer labia were so plump that her inner labia were barely visible, but Harrow reached out and parted them delicately with the tips of her fingers to catch a glimpse of what lay between. </p><p>Slick wetness was what lay between. Gideon was dripping with it, the slick coming in thick streams from the darkest part of her cunt at the base of her full labia. As Harrow watched, Gideon moaned and a bead of fresh wet found its way out of her opening. </p><p>It was beautiful. Harrow traced, very very gently, the circle of Gideon’s entrance and collected just a little bit of slick on her fingertip. </p><p>“Fuck you, I always knew you were the worst kind of sadist, holy shit,” Gideon panted, her hips restless under Harrow’s touch. </p><p>The slick was mostly clear and smelled musky, almost tangy. Harrow recalled what Gideon had said about putting her mouth down here and idly wondered what this wetness might taste like—probably not as terrible as Harrow imagined. </p><p>And well. Gideon was already squirming, which Harrow didn’t hate. It gave her a sense of power she never imagined she could feel anywhere but the training rooms she used to perfect her bone magic. Gideon might be the most disgusting thing she’d ever seen (brushed teeth aside), but this slick didn’t seem dirty. </p><p>Harrow brought the tip of her finger to her lips and tasted it with the tip of her tongue. It tasted exactly how it smelled. Tangy, and a bit musky. A little sour. But not unpleasant. <em>Hmm</em>. Harrow filed that away and turned back to Gideon’s cunt.</p><p>Gideon groaned, her fists clenching and sending every muscle in her arm into delicious tightness. The muscles in her thighs followed suit. “You can’t just tell me not to eat your pussy and then—whoa! Fuck—” </p><p>Harrow parted Gideon’s labia up at the top, first just the tiniest bit, and then more when she realized Gideon’s clit was going to hide from her. With a huff, Harrow pushed Gideon’s legs wider with her shoulders, pulling at her labia and grinning when she found what she was after. With the first two fingers of her left hand, she held the fat labia apart while the index finger of her right hand traced around the hood of Gideon’s clit. </p><p>“Fuck, Harrow, oh my god,” Gideon panted. Her thighs trembled, and when Harrow looked up into her face, it was flushed as pink as the lips of her cunt. </p><p>“What does it feel like?” Harrow tilted her face to try and see inside the hood and then just pushed it back with the tip of her finger instead. Gideon yelped. </p><p>The bead of Gideon’s clit was fat—much bigger than Harrow had expected. Under the hood, Gideon’s clit was quite long, like a very miniature version of what a penis might look like. Harrow had certainly never seen one of those outside her anatomy textbooks. </p><p>Experimentally, she pushed Gideon’s hood back further and rubbed right at the underside of Gideon’s clit with the pad of her thumb. </p><p>“Shit, that’s—” </p><p>“Good?” Harrow looked up at Gideon’s face, studying her reaction as she stroked again at the length of her clit. Gideon keened and threw her head back, finding a bit of pillow with her fists and clenching it as Harrow kept touching her. </p><p>Harrow rubbed again. Then her thumb slipped down into a bit of the wetness so that the next time she rubbed at Gideon’s clit, it was slick and Gideon was open-mouthed and panting. </p><p>Okay, so the more wet, the better. Harrow could learn just as quickly at this as she could any other subject. She made a slick circle around the whole of Gideon’s clit with her wet thumb, and Gideon whimpered high in her throat once more. Harrow continued and the noise got higher and more desperate. </p><p>Each noise Gideon made sent heat pooling between Harrow’s thighs to what was probably her own clit, now that she thought about it. It ached to be touched. Harrow had never felt this way before.</p><p>“How does it feel?” Harrow asked again, intent on Gideon’s answer. </p><p>“Feels like—like. What I did to you but, a thousand times more raw—fuck, yes, do that again—” Gideon’s teeth clenched as Harrow used her index finger and thumb to stroke the entire length of Gideon’s clit. It seemed to have grown since Harrow had begun touching it. She no longer had to hold the hood back, just Gideon’s labia. </p><p>“Am I going to make you cum like this?” Harrow couldn’t tell for herself just by watching Gideon. She had only cum for the first time minutes earlier. She didn’t know what the pattern looked like. </p><p>“Fuck, no, it’s too—oh god, maybe like that—you keep changing things up and it—” Gideon made a distraught noise as Harrow stroke around her clit several times quickly in a row. The sound of it sent shivers through Harrow’s stomach. </p><p>She did it once more, and Gideon’s whole body relaxed into the sensation before tensing up against it. Interesting. </p><p>“Is that good?” Harrow repeated the movement and didn’t stop, eyes watching the way Gideon relaxed and flexed her hips in time with the circles. Momentarily, Harrow paused to dip all of her fingers into the slickness at Gideon’s cunt and resumed her task, faster now that her fingers were wet. </p><p>“Please—Harrow—” Gideon reached a hand down to claw at her pubic mound, clearly unwilling to interrupt Harrow but in distress nonetheless. Not that Harrow could have stopped for anything; she was determined to see this to the climax. Every pass of her fingers was winding Gideon up. Her cries increased in volume and desperation, her hips flexed and released more violently, as if searching for something. Harrow’s fingers slipped and instead of circles, her fingers stroked up and down Gideon’s clit. </p><p>Immediately, Harrow could tell Gideon was cumming, even never having seen it before. Gideon’s breathing hitched on each exhale with a guttural sob and her whole cunt throbbed under Harrow’s hands. Harrow could see the opening to Gideon’s cunt contracting, slick weeping out every time it released. Gideon’s hand found Harrow’s, and she clenched her thick fingers around Harrow’s bony wrist.</p><p>Harrow tried to keep her rhythm steady, up and down the small length of Gideon’s clit, but it was so difficult with Gideon’s hips skipping around as she rode her climax out. It was a miracle Harrow could even keep her labia spread properly, honestly. </p><p>When Gideon finally stilled, Harrow sat up and back on her heels, looking over the damage. Gideon’s entire cunt was wet, dripping down the insides of her thighs and pooling on the cot below in a damp circle. Every inch of her was flushed a deep, deep maroon color and the hair on and between her labia glistened a shade brighter. </p><p>Harrow tried to be comforting, rubbing gentle circles into the divots of Gideon’s hips with her thumbs. </p><p>“Fuck—Harrow, no!” Gideon cried out and her legs closed around Harrow. “I’m so fucking ticklish, stop it, please!” </p><p>Harrow pulled her hands back immediately. Tickling felt wrong, somehow. Like it was too intimate. The climax was business—it was just sex. She needed to understand it, needed to crack the code. But tickling wasn’t part of the equation. </p><p>“I. I should go,” Harrow said, unable to meet Gideon’s eye. “I learned what I came to learn.” </p><p>“Wait—you’re not gonna even let me touch your pussy?” </p><p>Harrow’s brow furrowed. “Why? I already climaxed. So did you.” </p><p>Gideon huffed, blowing a strand of sweaty red hair off her nose. “Baby. Honey. Sweetheart. The wonderful thing about sex between two pussies is that it literally never has to end. Stopping at one orgasm would be irresponsible and ungrateful of us.” </p><p>Harrow scoffed, blushing bright pink. “You’re so crass, Griddle.” </p><p>Gideon just smiled wider, reaching out for Harrow’s hands. “Please, Reverend Mother? Let me touch your puss?” </p><p>“Oh, absolutely not,” Harrow said, pulling her hands out of Gideon’s terrible, sweaty grasp. The texture was awful in the chill of the room. “Not if you’re going to call it <em>that.</em>” </p><p>Gideon grinned again, showing the tips of her canines like a feral animal or some barbarian. “Oh, Dark Queen, let me worship at the altar of your sex. Let me shower your beautiful cunt with my praises, let me—” </p><p>“Oh my god, shut up,” Harrow said, slapping at the bare skin of Gideon’s belly. It was too hard to be any measure of satisfying, but it shut her up. “Fine. But after that, I’m leaving. I can’t be here forever.” </p><p>“We’ll see,” Gideon said, sitting up so that Harrow was practically in her lap. With both of them naked and Gideon’s... girth so up close, Harrow felt remarkably small. It was a terrible feeling and even worse—she didn’t hate it. </p><p>As if blessed with some sort of annoying sixth sense, Gideon spoke her insecurity into existence. “Wow, Harrow. You’re so tiny.” Harrow ducked her head to hide her blush. “It’s... very hot,” Gideon continued, and Harrow burned even hotter. What the fuck. </p><p>“It’s... hot?” </p><p>“Yeah, like. I could pick you up and fuck you against the wall or something,” Gideon said. Casually. Like she was talking about the weather. It was so excruciatingly embarrassing that Harrow wrinkled her nose.</p><p>Gideon decided to demonstrate, repositioning them easily so that Gideon leaned against the wall and Harrow was settled in her lap.Then, Gideon tipped Harrow’s head up and met her eyes. </p><p>It felt too intimate. Harrow’s dark eyes darted back and forth between each of Gideon’s, her heart fluttering like a hummingbird as Gideon traced the tip of her nose with a fingertip. Harrow held herself so still, afraid she would run out of the room entirely if she moved a single muscle. Gideon’s finger moved down the tip of Harrow’s nose to her lips, tracing the thin swell of them as carefully as one would an antique glass figurine. </p><p>Then Gideon closed her eyes and kissed Harrow, but it wasn’t clumsy like the earlier kisses they’d shared. The pressure of Gideon’s mouth was firm and confident. She kissed like she’d done it a thousand times, like she knew exactly how to taste Harrow, like she was searching for something she would absolutely find. </p><p>This kiss felt like Gideon and Harrow were meant to be kissing each other, like they were made to kiss like this. It felt like the silly stupid soulmates bullshit that Harrow had heard about and dismissed as frivolous fiction. She hated it, she couldn’t stand it, and at the same time she never wanted it to stop. </p><p>Like this, connected to Gideon so intimately—their warm bodies naked and pressed together, arms twined around bodies and lips meeting over and over, like waves on the ocean shore—it struck Harrow how <em>lonely</em> she’d been her whole life. How <em>alone</em> she’d been. Her parents hadn’t touched her much before they died. And now that they were dead, no one ever touched her. Harrow made sure of that. She wrapped herself in scratchy robes and bone corsets and diaphanous veils so no one could see or touch her. In her dark moments she called it protection, and in her normal moments she tried not to think about it. </p><p>Gideon had been the only semblance of consistent intimacy in her life. The intimacy of enemies, the intimacy of being the only two children of their generation. Harrow still felt alone—swimming in secrets she didn’t know how to stop keeping to herself—but this spark of connection absolutely unmoored her.</p><p>If she wasn’t lonely, then what was she? </p><p>Harrow suddenly grew angry at Gideon, gentle fingers turning into claws against Gideon’s thick thighs. She hissed and bit at Gideon’s lip, drawing blood. The sharp tang of it made her hungry for more of the blaze, more of the pleasure Gideon had given her. If they were going to do this, Harrow might as well get the most out of it she could. </p><p>It was awkward, but Harrow threaded a leg between Gideon’s so that she could grind her slick cunt against Gideon’s thigh, shocked by the pressure against her swollen clit. She’d never felt anything like this, and the way Gideon gripped at her hips and swore as Harrow worked her hips gave her more power than she’d ever felt in her life. More power than when she succeeded with a new bit of bone magic, more power than when she finished a 9th House Sermon without drawing suspicion. It was like she owned this moment, owned Gideon’s golden stare and her desire and her passion. </p><p>And then Gideon shifted her hips and suddenly Harrow’s cunt rubbed against Gideon’s and the both of them cried out together. Harrow was struck suddenly with the need to kiss Gideon, to feel her lust at the source. They kissed sloppy and messy, Harrow tilting her pelvic bone just <em>so</em> until their clits rubbed together and <em>fuck</em>, Gideon’s was so big and—</p><p>“Ah—Gideon, I’m going to—” </p><p>“Oh fuck, are you serious? Already?” </p><p>“I—yes, I think so?” </p><p>Gideon licked a long stripe up Harrow’s neck and bit down right below her ear, hands on Harrow’s hips, forcing their cunts together faster to help Harrow crest the peak again. </p><p>“Let me lick you after this, Harrow, please, come for me and let me taste it, I’ll clean you up so good, I want it so bad, you’re so fucking sexy when you let go, can you come?” </p><p>And Harrow, irritated by the way Gideon’s words stirred the waves in her belly higher and higher, gritted her teeth and came for Gideon, keening in the back of her throat and jerking against Gideon. The stimulation was so intense and the pressure was so strong that Harrow’s eyes squeezed shut and her mouth fell open. </p><p>As Harrow floated in the ocean of her climax, Gideon whispered praises and encouragement in her ear that Harrow didn’t want but definitely flushed in pleasure for. It was so much—her orgasm went on forever. The obscene amount of cum she’d gushed onto Gideon squelched between them unpleasantly, and then Gideon was lowering Harrow to the bed on her back. Gideon lavished her with attention, petting at her collarbones and brushing warm fingers against the hard, painful points of Harrow’s nipples. She traced the ribs visible under Harrow’s skin, gentle enough not to tickle, and then cupped at the tiny little swell of her lower belly before threading fingers into Harrow’s thatch of dark pubic hair. </p><p>“God, Harrow, you smell so fucking divine. Like an actual sex goddess. Are you a sex goddess? Have you been lying to me about your real powers this whole time?” </p><p>Harrow hated the way her face grew warm at the audacious praise. She shoved at Gideon’s head with shaky fingers and then threaded them into the ridiculous hair on top of Gideon’s head. “Are you going to sit there and yap, or are you going to put your mouth on me like you promised, Griddle? If you make me wait I might change my mind.” </p><p>Gideon gulped and smiled, sheepish. “Milady needs a tongue bath,” she said, wiggling those stupid auburn eyebrows. “I’m happy to provide!” </p><p>Harrow groaned, absolutely pained. Why had she been forced to resort to Gideon for sexual education? May her parents rest in agony for the sole transgression of cursing Harrow with Gideon’s constant companionship. The stupid flaming motherfucker couldn’t even leave the goddamned planet. </p><p>While Harrow was lamenting and waxing melancholic in her head, Gideon was shuffling down so that her broad shoulders were pushing Harrow’s thighs to each side, peeling apart Harrow’s sticky labia, and surveying the landscape with absolute delight. </p><p>“Fuck you, Griddle, I—” </p><p>Gideon licked up the whole of Harrow’s cunt in one stroke, the flat of her tongue rubbing rough against all of the sensitive spots in her path.“You already did, My Dark Mistress. Now it’s my turn. To fuck you.” </p><p>Harrow’s answering noise of disgust died in the back of her throat when Gideon repeated the flat stroke against her pussy. She blushed absolutely crimson when Gideon made a horrible noise of approval against her before licking again. God, Gideon’s tongue was enormous. It covered the whole of her cunt as she lapped and then—fuck. Then Gideon was wiggling her tongue between Harrow’s labia to find the bits of slick her broad passes had missed. The point of her tongue poked at Harrow’s clit painfully for a moment before it worked down into the entrance of her cunt and fuck! Harrow couldn’t stop her hips from canting up towards Gideon’s mouth. It should disgust her, having Gideon’s filthy tongue inside of her, but apparently— </p><p>Apparently all her traitorous body wanted was Gideon’s tongue further inside. </p><p>“Gi-Griddle—” </p><p>“Mmmm?” Gideon didn’t pull away, just flicked her fiery eyes up to Harrow’s face to listen. </p><p>“I—I don’t—” Harrow stammered.</p><p>Gideon couldn’t reply properly, too intent on swirling the tip of her tongue in circles around Harrow’s hole. She made a questioning noise and kept her eyes on Harrow’s. </p><p>“I’m—it feels—” And then Gideon pushed the fat of her tongue into Harrow and all thought dissipated, her head dropping back to the cot. </p><p>“More,” she pleaded, hands clutching tighter into Gideon’s hair, pushing her further into Harrow’s pussy. </p><p>“Mmmmhhmmm,” Gideon hummed, but then she retracted her tongue and Harrow felt empty, bereft, and absolutely<em> pissed</em> about it. </p><p>She didn’t even have time to complain, however, as Gideon pushed herself onto an elbow and pushed the middle finger of her right hand into Harrow’s warmth. Harrow’s whole cunt squeezed around it. What the fuck. Why did that feel so good and so intrusive at the same time. And then—fuck, and then Gideon curled her finger and Harrow saw white. </p><p>“Fuck, what the fuck.” Her head lifted off the pillow and she yanked at Gideon. “What the fuck,” she said again. </p><p>Gideon grinned wide, her chin sticky and shiny already, so disgusting. Harrow ignored the way her stomach flipped. </p><p>“You like that, huh?” And then Gideon started making some sort of circles inside of her with that finger, watching Harrow’s face intently before pulling the finger back out and adding her ring finger too. </p><p>Someone was making some sort of horrifying guttural noise; it was so animalistic that all the hairs on Harrow’s neck stood on end. Ah, shit. It was Harrow. Harrow was making that noise, and she knew it because she made it again when Gideon pulled her fingers out most of the way and then pushed them back in, curving to hit that same spot from before. </p><p>Gideon kept at it, pulling out and pushing back in, rubbing against the front wall of Harrow’s cunt. Breathy, horrible noises kept slipping out of Harrow’s mouth as Gideon sped up, the pace becoming unbearable in the best way. </p><p>And then Gideon bent back down, her teeth showing through her smile like she was some sort of predatory animal, and licked between Harrow’s labia to find her clit again. </p><p>“Fuck—Griddle, ah!” Harrow lost the ability to form sensical thoughts when Gideon wrapped her lips around Harrow’s clit and began to suckle at it lightly. It was like a lightning rod was pushing down through her clit to the spot where Gideon’s fingertips were rubbing inside of her, firmly now instead of quickly. </p><p>Harrow couldn’t control herself. Her fingers clawed into Gideon’s hair, and she had to stop herself from yanking Gideon off of her and pushing her down harder all at the same time. Somehow, the waves of pleasure from before became a tsunami, rising up past Harrow’s chest and into her throat, her noises choking off as Gideon didn’t. Fucking. Stop. </p><p>Harrow felt frantic, felt strangely emotional and fragile, and then she felt a tear leak out of her eyes where they were squeezed shut and she startled, choking on a moan and sobbing instead. </p><p>Gideon made a noise against her clit that absolutely <em>did not</em> help and Harrow lost it, ragged sobs tearing out of her throat and tears leaking freely down her face. Gideon sucked harder on her clit and rubbed firmer inside of her, pausing to slip her littlest finger inside as well, and the <em>stretch, oh my god</em>. </p><p>“Gi-Gi-Gideon!” </p><p>Gideon made that noise again, and Harrow’s eyes flew open as the tsunami broke inside of her and the pleasure swept right over her head, drowning her. She sobbed harder, harder than she’d ever cried in her life, her vision blurry except for the grounding reference point of Gideon’s fiery hair. She cried even as the tidal wave stopped inside of her, shoving Gideon off of her and going limp against the hard cot. </p><p>“Oh, baby,” Gideon crooned, brushing damp hair off of Harrow’s forehead and kissing the tear tracks at her temples. “Oh, honey, that was so pretty,” she said, continuing to kiss at Harrow’s face and stroke her hair as she adjusted so she could lie against Harrow’s body, keeping her as warm as possible in the freezing air. </p><p>Harrow hiccupped and curled into Gideon, unable to stop herself from seeking out the warmth of Gideon’s body. Her hands clenched around nothing and it <em>hurt,</em> like her muscles were sore from gripping for a long time. Gideon kissed at her cheeks and the tips of her ears where the littlest of Harrow’s bone earrings sat inside the cartilage. Harrow shivered and Gideon stopped there, huffing right into Harrow’s ear, clearly amused. Then she kissed at each of the bones in Harrow’s ears, carefully, one by one. At the end, she flicked her tongue out to touch Harrow’s earlobe and Harrow grunted, churlish and embarrassed by how good it had felt. </p><p>“God, you’re so annoying when you think you’ve done well at something,” Harrow murmured against the side of Gideon’s breast. </p><p>“I did though, wouldn’t you agree?” </p><p>Harrow could feel the stupid, eager smile on Gideon’s face. Smug. “I don’t have a wealth of experience to offer comparison, but I suppose it was... adequate.” </p><p>Gideon scoffed, ruffling Harrow’s hair like the annoying brat she was. “Fucking fantastic, thank you very much. What a way to lose our virginity! You should be thanking me, actually.” </p><p>Harrow scoffed, biting at the fleshy part of Gideon’s underarm and wrinkling her nose against the smell of her sweat. “Virginity makes me sound like some blushing 16 year-old. I am an adult and I’ve been busy. There’s nothing wrong with not having sex.” </p><p>“Oh, absolutely, if it’s by choice. Just kinda pathetic that neither of us have ever, uh. At this age. Although, can you even imagine? Who would I have to fuck? Aiglamene? She’s fucking ancient.” </p><p>Harrow’s brain was whirring back to life at this point, and she frowned. “You—I thought you—” </p><p>Gideon raised her eyebrows, scratching at a spot on her own collarbone while she waited for Harrow to get it together. </p><p>“I thought you had... you know... before!” </p><p>“Oh fuck, you didn’t know I was a virgin? Hell yeah! No, babe, I’m just that good.” </p><p>“Don’t ever call me babe ever again,” Harrow said, sitting upright and regretting it immediately as the frigid air rushed over her exposed skin. “You’ve got all those skin mags, and I just assumed—” </p><p>“Nope. You’re my one and only, sweetheart.” </p><p>“You are the bane of my existence, Nav.” Harrow wanted to lie back down against Gideon very badly, but her pride held her back.</p><p>“You always say such sweet things to me, Dark Princess. Harrowhark, my esteemed Reverend Mother.” Gideon reached behind Harrow to grab something, and as she wrapped it around Harrow’s shoulders Harrow realized it was her thick, heavy outer robe. Never before had Harrow been so grateful for its warmth, and she clutched it around her bony shoulders tightly, fingers aching with cold and exertion. </p><p>Gideon sat up and wrapped herself in a ratty blanket that had been pushed up to the head of her dismal excuse for a bed. “No wonder there aren’t many children in the 9th House. It’s way too cold to fuck. I’m not even sure the heat actually works down here.” </p><p>Harrow couldn’t suppress her snort, even against the scratchy fabric of her robe. “We’d be dead if it didn’t work, Griddle. You’d know it.” </p><p>“Well, if I was dead, I wouldn’t—” </p><p>And Harrow, fed up with Gideon’s nonsense, leaned in and kissed her soundly, licking over the tips of her teeth and stroking along the softness of her tongue. Gideon made a disgruntled noise, displeased at being interrupted, no doubt, and then moved her tongue against Harrow’s, reaching a cold hand to cup at Harrow’s sharp jaw. </p><p>For a moment Harrow let herself imagine this scene in her own bedchambers, a touch bit warmer than this veritable dungeon and many times softer. She imagined Gideon against the rich black of her blankets, her fiery hair glowing against the black curtains and the pillows as Harrow worked between her legs. </p><p>Gideon tugged at Harrow’s lip, pulling her out of the daydream. Which was absurd, anyway. If anyone caught Harrowhark Nonagesimus, the Reverend Mother, in bed with Gideon Nav, the Prisoner of the 9th House. Well. </p><p>One of Gideon’s hands snaked under Harrow’s robe to palm at her breast, and Harrow flinched. </p><p>“Ah,” she said, pulling back from the kiss and feeling strangely bereft. “I’ve been gone long enough.” </p><p>Harrow watched as Gideon’s eyes dimmed a bit and she tried not to feel guilty. What did Gideon think, that Harrow was going to stay the night? Snuggle up on this miserable cot? Kiss her good morning? </p><p>No. Gideon was Gideon, and Harrow was important. </p><p>Gideon hummed in mock-curiosity, “Long enough for the beloved subjects of the 9th House to finally look at you and say ‘wow, Our Reverend Mother <em>fucks,</em>’ do you think?” </p><p>“Alright,” Harrow said, getting up off the bed and starting to redress. “I’m going to go now. Thank you, I suppose. For your help.” </p><p>She was tying the laces of her boots when Gideon spoke again. </p><p>“Can we—well. I think we have a responsibility. To do this again? Something this good should be enjoyed more than once, right?” </p><p>Harrow rolled her eyes. “I’ll think about it,” she said, despite knowing full well she would be back. </p><p>Gideon grinned, her eyes alight again, and Harrow resolutely ignored the warmth in her chest that had nothing to do with the way she’d just slung her robe over her shoulders again. With still-aching fingers, she lifted the hood over her face, granting herself anonymity once again, and turned to go. </p><p>“Goodbye, Harrow, Sex Goddess of the Night,” Gideon called, and Harrow resisted the urge to turn around and beat her to death with a bone creature. </p><p>She had more important things to do, and Gideon might prove useful again. Perhaps. Probably. </p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed. I'm not always this vanilla, I promise. Next time someone will pee. </p><p>To be clear, both ao3 handles are my own. </p><p>Beta-ed by my best friend in the whole world, @_liminal on twitter.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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